cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1247209/all-cars-sold-in-the-eu-now-require-a-camera-aimed-at-your-face-its-still-not-clear-wher
Starting July 7, 2026, every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera aimed at your face. Glance at your phone, your kids in the back seat, or the radio for too long, and the car will flash a warning light and sound an alert.
Automakers have known this was coming for years. What they, and EU regulators, have never spelled out is what happens to that footage after the alert goes off.
While the intention behind the new system is difficult to dispute, its implementation has raised several concerns. Early real-world testing suggests the distraction warnings can be overly sensitive and potentially distracting.
I had to rent a car for a few hours last weekend. It had a “safety feature” that automatically applied brakes if it thought you were too close to something ahead of you, with seemingly no regard to what is behind you and quickly approaching. After the third near-miss this caused, I pulled over and looked up how to turn that off.
Driving only works if everyone performs gradual, predictable maneuvers. I cannot act predictably if I can’t predict what my car will do.